Wire tie and method of securing the same to a wire fence or the like



0d. 6, 1959 5, COOKMAN 2,907,553

WIRE TIE AND METHOD OF SECURING THE SAME T0 A WIRE FENCE OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 2, 1957 apyrgvENTgR I ATTORNEYS United States Patent O WIRE TIE AND METHOD OF SECURING THE SAME TO A WIRE FENCE OR THE LIKE Erlo B. Cookman, West Richfield, Ohio Application January 2, 1957, Serial No. 632,135

1 Claim. (Cl. 256-57) This invention relates to wire ties for securing to other articles, such for example as wire fences, and to a method of securing such ties to other articles.

Ties of this type have heretofore been made of straight lengths of wire and sometimes one end of the wire tie is bent at an acute angle to the main body portion of the tie to hook onto a wire of a fence, whereupon that bent-over end of the tie would be secured to the fence by further bending the same with pliers or other tools.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a wire tie having an end thereof formed so as to greatly facilitate the application of this end to a wire fence and to do so without the use of a tool of any kind.

A further object is to provide a tie of this kind in which one end of the tie wire is bent in such a manner as to interlock with the fence wire and which will materially decrease the time required for the securing of a fence to its supporting posts, which is applied to a fence without distorting or rupturing the wire tie or fence wire, which end of the tie wire can be removed from the fence without the use of tools, and which can be repeatedly used if desired.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of some embodiments of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a part of a fence secured to a post by means of a wire tie embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof on line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the tie;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view thereof showing the preformed end of the tie in position relatively to the wire of a fence for securing the wire thereof;

Fig. 6 is a similar view thereof showing the tie turned through approximately 90 degrees about the axis of its body portion;

Fig. 7 is a similar view thereof showing the tie after the body portion thereof has been swung into position to form a closed loop at the preformed end thereof;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the tie into position to open the closed loop on an end thereof.

My improved tie may be used in connection with any desired type of wire fence or other article, the fence shown by way of example being of the type having a plurality of upright wires 10 bent to interlock with adjacent wires. 11 represents a post or other part to which the fence is to be secured.

My improved wire tie includes an elongate, straight shank or body portion 14 made of a suitable metal and of a diameter which permits the wire to be more readily bent than the fence wire to which it is to be secured. For example, aluminum wire has been found very satisfacice.

tory for this purpose. My invention relates only to one end of the tie wire, namely to the end which is first secured to a fence, the other end being secured as hereto fore. That end of the wire to which my invention relates is bent into a loop which is preferably of approximately spiral form and includes a curved or partially circular portion 15 which spirals away from the body portion and terminates at its end in a tangentially extendingpart 16 which may be approximately straight and which extends across the body portion 14 in spaced relation thereto to form a space or gap 17. The straight portion 16 when seen in top plan view extends at least partly across the body portion 14 of the tie wire. The pitch of the spiral on which the end of the tie wire is bent is such that the free end 16 of the spiral will be spaced from the body portion of the tie wire to an extent sufficient to permit the fence wires 10 to readily .pass through the ,gap or opening 17; The loop is made of sufficient size so that a fence wire or other part to which the tie wire is to be secured will readily fit into the interior 18 of the loop.

In applying this wire tie to a fence wire, the tie wire is first placed at one side of a fence wire and pushed beyond this wire so that the loop 15 is beyond this fence wire, whereupon the tie wire is pulled back so that the fence wire has passed through the gap or space 17 between the straight part 16 of the loop and the body portion 14. The tie wire is then pulled back so that the fence wire will be entirely within the spiral loop 15 and will extend through the opening 18 formed within the interior of the loop. The straight end part 16 of the loop then extends underneath the fence wire 10 so that it will of course be obvious that if the fence wire 10 slopes the parts have the appearance shown in Fig. 6. It will of course be obvious that if the fence wire 10 slopes in the opposite direction, the tie wire is applied so that the end part 16 will in that case extend about the fence wire. The loop in the tie wire is still open so that the tie wire might easily become disengaged from the fence wire. However, this loop, when in the position shown in Fig. 6, can readily be closed by merely lifting the body portion 14 of the tie wire upwardly from the'position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 7, whereupon the loop will be deformed in such a manner that the straight portion 16 will lie against the body portion 14 of the tie Wire, so that inadvertent disengagement of the tie wire from the fence is prevented.

The other end of the wire tie may then be fastened in any desired manner. For example, when the tie wire is employed in connection with a fence, the tie wire is bent around the fence post so that the straight body portion 14 thereof is curved to extend about the post and the other straight end of the tie wire is then brought into proximity to another fence wire 10 at the other side of the fence post 11. This end of the tie wire can then be bent into a closed loop by means of pliers or other suitable instruments, as has heretofore been done in connection with tie wires for fences. When. the ends of the tie wire are in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it will be evident that the tie wire will be securely fastened at both ends to the fence. The operations or methods of applying the wire tie to a fence as described in connection with Figs. 5, 6 and 7 can be performed very quickly without the use of any tools so that the fastening of the preformed end of the tie Wire without the use of any tools can be performed in very much less time than is required for bending the corresponding end of a tie wire as heretofore made around a fence wire by means of pliers or other tools. This tie wire has the further advantages that the tie wire remains in place as soon as it is hooked on a fence, even before the loop is closed, which gives the user a chance to change the location of the tie on a fence; that the end of the tie is automatically secured in place by merely raising or lowering the body portion of the tie wire; that no distortion, rupturing or nicking of the preformed endof the tie results; that the preformed ends of the wire ties will all be uniformly secured tothe fence; that the loops at the preformed ends of the wire ties avoid the formation of sharp bends in the tie wires which would weaken the same, and that the preformed ends of the tie wires can be fastened to the fence with one hand, thus leaving the other handfree for adjusting the fence relatively to a post, as may be desired.

It the person erecting the fence has made a mistake in applying the preformed end of the tie wire to a wire fence, the mistake can readily be remedied as shown in Fig. 8, by swinging the tie wire in the direction opposite to that shown in Fig. 7, whereupon the fence wire will engage the part 16 of the tie wire and bend the same back into open position, thus again forming the gap 17 which permits disengagement of the tie wire from the fence. While the tie wire has been described particularly for use in connection with wire fences, it is to be understood that my improved tie wire may be used in connection with other articles or objects.

I claim: 7 i r The method of securing a wire fence to a post, which includes a tie wire having a substantially straight portion terminating in an open spiral portion having a terminal end which extends past the said straight portion, said method comprising; engaging the spiral portion of said tie wire with a portion of said fence adjacent one side of said post, bending said tie wire with respect to said fence to close said spiral, winding said tie wire around said post and then passing the bent-around end of said tie wire around a portion of said fence on the side of said post opposite to said first mentioned side.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ed, a"? 

